Salvador Dali - a brilliant surrealist artist

Salvador Dali (born on May 11, 1904 - died on January 23, 1989) - a great Spanish surrealist artist of the 20th century, the most extravagant and sensational painter of modern times. Salvador Dali's paintings resemble a strange dream that leaves a person waking up in bewilderment - "did I really dream that?" Elephants on spider legs, melting clocks, anthropomorphic cabinets, and couch-lips - his masterpieces astonish, shock, and amaze. As if creations of extraterrestrial intelligence.

Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali adored money and fame, was eloquent and incredibly prolific. His works, of which there would be over a thousand (sometimes the master painted up to 5 paintings a day), appear to be the products of a mad genius. Nevertheless, while the epithet "mad" flattered the artist, he claimed to be perfectly normal. Self-assuredness bordering on self-love was inherent in the master throughout his life.

Salvador Dali. The Sleep, 1937

Salvador Dali's Biography

Salvador Dali was a Catalan. "The infant was born on May 11, 1904, at 8:45 in the morning and was named Salvador Felipe Jacinto" - the record of the genius's birth in Figueres, Catalonia. His parents were well-off people - the artist's father was a notary, respected and decent.

Salvador Dali. The Temptation of St. Anthony, 1946

The mother and father named the boy Salvador, which translates from Spanish as "savior". Perhaps the child was named after one of his ancestors. Salvador himself believed that he was not only named but also destined to be a savior. He proclaimed his mission to be nothing less than saving painting from the "deadly danger posed by Dadaism, abstractionism, and other 'isms'."

Salvador Dali. The Face of Mae West can be used as a surrealist flat, 1934-1935

Clever but extremely arrogant, spoiled, and therefore almost uncontrollable, Salvador was an extraordinarily unsympathetic child. He loved to defy conventions, sought attention through antics and simulations. The future master suffered from strange phobias - for example, he was horrified by grasshoppers. This, of course, did not make him popular among peers - they didn't accept the boy into their circle, they teased him. Perhaps that's why Dali recalls his school years coolly in his memoirs.

Salvador Dali. Anthropomorphic secretaire, 1936

The boy became interested in painting at an early age and at the age of 10, he first saw the works of the Impressionists. Dali learned to paint at a city school, taking lessons from the professor of the Academy of Fine Arts, Nunes.

At the age of 47, the artist's mother died of cancer. His father, a strong-willed and determined man, was broken by the death of his wife and couldn't resist his son's pleas to let him go to Madrid. Salvador Dali, who barely obtained a high school diploma, goes to study at the School of Fine Arts, opened at the San Fernando Academy of Arts.

Salvador Dali. The Face of War, 1941

Because of his difficult character and unwillingness to submit to authorities, the youth of the master is full of tumultuous events. For example, he was expelled from the Academy twice, underwent imprisonment several times - for political reasons. In 1928, the young but already very fashionable artist Dali came to the French capital, where he met outstanding surrealists. He became part of André Breton's group. And a year later, the master met Gala (Dyakonova), a woman who became his lawful wife and muse.

Salvador Dali and Gala

The master lived a long and vibrant life, found true love, created thousands of masterpieces. He achieved everything he dreamed of. Except for becoming a chef, as he once wished at the age of six. An incredible, enigmatic, endlessly eccentric artist of the 20th century, became the face of the 20th century.

Salvador Dali. The Dance, 1957

Salvador Dali left the earthly world on Monday morning, at 10:15 on January 23, 1989. He departed in the same hospital in Figueres where he was born 84 years ago. The Master's final whim was the desire to be buried in a way that people would walk over his grave. His body was embalmed, then displayed in a snow-white tunic and a crown in the Galatea Tower of the famous Figueres theater-museum. The pilgrimage to the genius's body lasted for two days - Wednesday and Thursday. During that time, 20 thousand people managed to see him. Then the artist was buried in the center of the museum hall, surrounded by his works.

Salvador Dali. Salvador Dali Theatre Museum

The Best Paintings of Salvador Dali

The art of Salvador Dali cannot be overestimated. It's impossible to distinguish between his best and mediocre works in his legacy. They are all brilliant, charismatic, carrying the imprint of the talent with which Dali was so generously endowed. But it's worth mentioning at least his most famous paintings.

"Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening" was painted in 1944. This masterpiece is deeply symbolic. According to the artist, a connoisseur of Freud, the motivation for creating the canvas was the discovery of the great psychoanalyst. Dali wrote that his goal was to depict a long connected dream interrupted by some instantaneous influence. This influence - like a sting or a bee's bite - simultaneously creates the dream and contributes to its termination. It was this idea that fascinated Dali.

Salvador Dali. Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening, 1944

Another famous masterpiece is "The Persistence of Memory" (1931). It was painted in just a couple of hours, and the reason for its appearance was Dali's reflections on the nature of melting cheese.

Salvador Dali. The Persistence of Memory, 1931

Other famous masterpieces of the artist:

• "The Sacrament of the Last Supper" (1955).
• "The Face of War" (1941).
• "The Sleep" (1937).
• "The Temptation of St. Anthony" (1946).
• "The Dance" (1957).

Salvador Dali. The Sacrament of the Last Supper, 1955

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